Previewing the Toronto Raptors series against the Philadelphia 76ers
The Toronto Raptors face off against the Philadelphia 76ers in a highly anticipated second-round matchup. Which team holds the advantage in this series?
The NBA playoffs are here. The real playoffs. After a faux five-game series to start the postseason, the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers will face off in what should be an exciting back-and-forth battle.
Experts and fans placed the top four Eastern Conference teams in a tier by themselves prior to the playoffs. That proved to be correct as the higher seeds went 16-2 in the opening round. Now, the real playoffs begin.
As the second overall seed, the Toronto Raptors will have the homecourt advantage. If the series does come down to seven games, it could be the deciding factor. Toronto won more than 85-percent of their home games this season. Philly was below .500 on the road.
Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of this matchup is the lack of knowledge we have heading into it. These two teams haven’t faced off since February 5th. At that time, Tobias Harris was still on the Los Angeles Clippers, and Marc Gasol was still on the Memphis Grizzlies.
Some individual matchup information can be taken from games during the season, but the Raptors 3-1 series advantage is essentially meaningless. These two teams are not the same rosters that faced off earlier in the year.
Philadelphia has the most talented starting five in the Eastern Conference. Ben Simmons is a 6’10” point guard with transcendent vision, Jimmy Butler is an All-Star two-way wing, JJ Redick is an absolute sniper, Tobias Harris may be the best fourth option in the league, and Joel Embiid is a top-ten player in the NBA.
They have talent oozing out their seams, and player by player, are more talented than the Toronto Raptors.
However, the Raptors have the advantage in depth and fit. As talented as the 76ers are, they underachieved all season long. They finished with the NBA’s 9th ranked offense and 13th ranked defense. We can try to project talent all we want, on the court, Philadelphia simply did not perform as well as Toronto.
Top-end talent vs. depth and fit. This round-two series isn’t just two teams facing off; it’s the answer to a philosophical question. What’s more important this time of year?
Of course, it’s not that simple. This isn’t just a philosophical question. These are two real teams with real matchup intricacies between them. How do those matchups shape up, and who holds the advantage in each of them is the real question.